First, “they” wanted us to reduce the use of fossil fuels. So “they” decreed that ethanol must become part of the motor fuel. “They” also thought it would help out with our dependance on foreign oil. A win-win “they” said: we’ll save the environment and balance the trade deficit. “They” were wrong. The blending of ethanol into gasoline actually reduced the mileage of the majority of operating vehicles. (Meaning that you have to use more fuel.) And American farmers have more acreage planted with corn right now than has been seen since 1933. Corn has doubled in price from $2 to $4 a bushel and them farmers can reap a windfall. But there are consequences. First off, Mexico is pissed at us because all that surplus corn that used to go into cheap tortillas isn’t. Corn is pricey and so are tortillas… all while the fat gringos ride around in their SUV’s slurping ethanol (that was sarcasm). But more importantly, growing all that corn is killing the environment. What? “They” didn’t tell you that, did they? 210,000,000 pounds of nitrogen fertilizer run-off enters the Gulf of Mexico each year and has created a dead zone of almost 8,000 square miles. It’s so depleted of oxygen that fish, crabs and shrimp just suffocate. How about that?